Ridgeview's Edwards signs with Fresno State
| Wednesday, Feb 01 2012 10:17 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Feb 01 2012 11:31 PM
National signing day
Local athletes signing letters of intent this week
NameSchoolCollegeSport
Crissy CunninghamLibertyHumboldt Statevolleyball
Monica DiazGarces Cal State Dominguez Hillssoccer
Tyler Dogins-xBC (Ridgeview)Northern Coloradofootball
Ian Driskill-xBC (Frontier)Metro St. (Colo.)football
Shannon EdwardsRidgeviewFresno Statefootball
Garrett Galanski-xBC (Ridgeview)McPherson College (Kan.)football
Will Harvey-xBC (Frontier)Metro St. (Colo.)football
Taiyon Jackson-xBC (West)Midwestern Statefootball
Ridge James-xBC (Richardson, Texas)South Alabamafootball
Fallon KellerLibertyHumboldt Statesoccer
Michael MartensCentennialAzusa Pacificfootball
Molly McNallyBakersfieldMetro St. (Colo.)soccer
Cameron MillerStockdaleStanfordtrack/XC
Jessica MillerStockdaleMinot State (N.D.)soccer
Derek MooreStockdaleMontana State-Northernfootball
Kaylee MoyerNorthCSUBtrack/XC
Silas NacitaBakersfieldCornell (Ithaca, N.Y.)football
B.J. NardFrontierCal Polyfootball
Wesley Nichols-xL.A. Harbor (Stockdale)Morgan Statefootball
Kyle NixonFrontierCSUBbaseball
Kaitlin SwiftGarcesWestmontsoccer
Mackenzie TaylorLibertyMasterssoccer
Blake Walker-xBC (Frontier)Azusa Pacificfootball
Jimmy Wilson-xBC (Fairfield)Ottawa (Kan.)football
Armonti Yharbrough-xBC (Detroit)Morgan State (Md.)football
x -- junior-college athletes typically sign letters of intent before signing day
Note: If any athletes signing in this period are missing from this list, please contact reporter Zach Ewing at zewing@bakersfield.com.
Images
Alex Horvath / The Californian
Surround by his family Ridgeview's Shannon Edwards signs national letter of intent to Fresno State. Sitting at the table after he signed are his brothers Nicholas and Christian, mother Denise, father Shannon, and sister Hailee.
BHS Molly McNally signs a national letter of intent to play soccer at Metro State.
Surrounded by people he says have helped him the most BHS's Silas Nacita signs a national letter of intent Wednesday to play football at Cornell. At left is BHS wrestling coach Andy Varner, BHS football coach Paul Golla, and Amonna Nacita, Silas' mom.
Surround by his family Ridgeview's Shannon Edwards signs national letter of intent to Fresno State. Sitting at the table after he signed are his brothers Nicholas and Christian, mother Denise, father Shannon, and sister Hailee.
During the letter of intent signing ceremony, Wednesday, at Frontier High, B.J. Nard gets a cupcake from his mother, Earlene, after Nard signed his letter to attend Cal Poly.
National Signing Day has become a merry-go-round of hat-picking ceremonies and recruiting rankings, typically long on drama and short on patience.
Just look a couple of hours up the road in Fresno, where Washington Union wide receiver Deontay Greenberry delivered the shock of Wednesday, backing out of his commitment to Notre Dame and signing instead to play for Houston. Notre Dame followers everywhere wondered exactly what happened.
Recruiting website Rivals.com listed Greenberry's flip-flop as the biggest surprise of the day -- nationally.
No such buzz eminated from Kern County, where the three local football players headed for Division I schools all quietly faxed in letters of intent to their schools of choice in the morning before celebrating with big smiles and colorful cakes a few hours later.
Shannon Edwards, a cornerback from Ridgeview, will play for Fresno State. Frontier's B.J. Nard signed to play safety for Cal Poly; and Silas Nacita, a running back/defensive back for Bakersfield High, is headed for Cornell of the Ivy League.
"It's always been a dream for me since I was a little kid," Edwards said. "I always wanted to play Division I football. Finally signing that paper and going there is an amazing feeling."
Edwards' recruitment was the most topsy-turvy of any local: He verbally pledged to UCLA last June and appeared firm in that commitment all the way until last week, when UCLA's new coaching staff asked him to grayshirt, i.e., wait until next spring to enroll to save a scholarship in this year's class.
"I really felt like I was better than a grayshirt," said Edwards, whom Rivals rated as a three-star recruit. "I thought I could compete with those other guys. I decided to switch to somewhere where they actually wanted me to play."
When he de-committed from UCLA, his phone starting buzzing with calls from other programs, including BYU, San Jose State, Boise State and Idaho.
"The past two weeks have been hectic," Edwards said. "It was so late in the game that I started to get worried about where I was going to go. I've been getting no sleep.
"But it pretty much worked out for the better. Everything happens for a reason."
Edwards turned to a common destination for Kern County's top players -- Fresno State, where he'll become the second Ridgeview player, after linebacker Kyrie Wilson, and ninth Bakersfield player overall on the Bulldogs' roster.
"The coaches really made it feel like home," said Edwards, who was recruited by new head coach Tim DeRuyter and new defensive backs coach Tim McDonald. "It's close to Bakersfield and I've talked to all those other guys, so it really feels like home."
Nacita had to make more than one choice. First was sport: Nacita has carried on the family wrestling tradition in fine fashion (he's ranked first in the state at 170 pounds by The California Wrestler) but has come on strong as a football player (started on offense and defense for Bakersfield's Division I Central Section championship team).
"I've done a lot of thinking about it, and I've had countless people ask me about it," said Nacita, who celebrated his signing with Molly McNally, a BHS soccer player who signed with Division II Metro State in Denver. "I've been wrestling since I was 4, years and years. Football is just newer and exciting. I've kind of just developed a stronger passion for it. But no matter what, I'd still like to wrestle."
Nacita eventually melded that choice into his second decision: Where to compoete. He went with Cornell (N.Y.), a place where he might compete in football and wrestling and get an Ivy League education -- possibly in engineering.
"Cornell is going to be an awesome opportunity for me," Nacita said. "It's going to be a great time and receiving a great education that's going to prepare me for the future. That had a lot to do with my decision. I wanted to be prepared for life."
Another two-time All-Area player, Nard, also considered heading east: Army was interested in him as a senior, along with Nevada, Utah and several other Football Bowl Subdivision schools from the top level of college football. He eventually settled on Cal Poly.
"I went on my official visit, and it was a great environment," said Nard, who made four interceptions this season and averaged 53.3 yards per kickoff return. "I loved everything about it. Football-wise, it's going to be fun. Academic-wise, it's amazing. And it's by the beach. Who doesn't want to be by the beach?"
Football steals most headlines on National Signing Day, but standout local athletes in several other sports signed Wednesday. That included two distance runners.
Stockdale's Cameron Miller signed to run cross country and track at Stanford. Like Nacita and Nard, Miller cited academics as a major factor for his choice.
"Stanford is an institution where I can further my academic, athletic and social horizons," Miller said in an email. "I'm really looking forward to spending the next few years of my life around great teammates and knowledgeable coaches."
Miller was The Californian's Cross Country Runner of the Year after finishing eighth in the state's Division I championship race in November.
Joining Miller in the Division I running ranks is North's Kaylee Moyer, who signed to be a part of Cal State Bakersfield's women's cross country and track teams.
"Becoming a Division I athlete is the craziest thing I ever thought would happen," Moyer said. "When I found out Cal State Bakersfield wanted me to run for them, my decision was made."
